WE WILL NOT LET VIOLENCE WIN THE DAY
Premier Margaret Thatcher today blasts back at the critics who have branded her a dictator.
And she explains why she is keeping out of the ten-week-old pit strike.
In a frank and exclusive interview a remarkably relaxed Mrs Thatcher also:
Condemns the coalfield bully-boys and praises the courage of the growing band of miners defying them.
Rejects claims that a political divide is emerging between North and South.
Tells how the forthcoming Euro—election campaign will be the toughest test yet of her stamina.
But it is the charge that after five years in Downing Street she has turned into a dictator which particularly angers Mrs Thatcher.
“I think it is ridiculous. We are the party of freedom and justice. We have done a great deal to enlarge freedom,” she told me.
After listing the Government controls which have been lifted under her leadership such as prices and incomes Mrs Thatcher adds: “We have cut out many areas over which Government operates.
Actions
“We have been strong to do—such Government can do—such as maintaining our defences and law and order.
“But if we believe in freedom we must make sure that people take the consequences of their actions.”
This leads on to the miners' strike—a subject never far from her mind And she says: “The very people accusing me of dictatorship are also urging me to intervene in this dispute and they get cross when I say No.
“The dispute will never be resolved until management and work force co-operate.
As for a solution to the bitter conflict Mrs Thatcher says: “As the Government we have fulfilled our role. Not a single Government in history has invested as much in the future of coal and in the good pits which we have.
“Now we must stand back and keep out, saying ‘You will only end it when you come together. You must come together.’
“No one will be more pleased than I when the miners are back at work and making up the £240 million they have already lost in income. Their families can then breathe a sigh of relief.”
Just when the two sides will come together Mrs Thatcher is not prepared to guess but adds:
“I obviously hope it will resolve itself very quickly. We all must.
“I think the violence we have seen is appalling. It has done the miners a lot of harm.
“We have all got to condemn violence and intimidation. I want every miner, every steelworker, every trade union member, every citizen to do it.”
“Violence and intimidation are un-British and unacceptable. I believe society is now saying this. It is fed up with them.
“I also think there are many, many miners who are not at work and who would like to be at work who are appalled at what has happened and they will be saying don't use violence, use the ballot box.
“There is a silent majority in the coalfields of Britain who are being intimidated out of going to work.
“It does take a lot of courage to walk through picket lines, particularly if they feel they are being intimidated back in the villages, in their homes.
“It also calls for a lot of courage from their families. But we will not let violence and intimidation win the day.”
She went on to confirm that Home Secretary Leon Brittan is looking again at the Public Order Act with special attention being paid to police powers over “static” demonstrations.
This would enable the police to take preventative measures in situations like the demonstration which sparked the Libyan siege or on miners' picket lines.
But Mrs Thatcher warns: “You have got to be careful that in a free society you do have a right of demonstration.
She also turned on her opponents who claim Government policies are creating a divide between the North and South.
“A lot of heavy industry was concentrated in the North and a lot of the business has been moved away from this country. But we are now getting a much wider variety of work in the North,” she says.
“It gave me a tremendous fillip as well as the North-East, when Nissan said they were going to build their new car plant there. It boosted the whole morale of the area.
“But it does grieve me greatly when I see coal orders for Durham not being taken up. In know there's a feeling that the North hasn't been thought about but that is simply not true.”
The Prime Minister was speaking as she prepares for yet another election scrap—this time over votes to the European Parliament on June 14.
Tomorrow she kicks off the Tory election drive and admits: “It's going to be the most difficult thing I have ever done energy-wise.”
With Parliament still in session, the Government to run, a vital economic summit in London and the smouldering crisis in the Gulf, the strain of the coming weeks will be enormous—even for a political leader with legendary stamina.
“It is going to be quite a heavy task,” she says. “I like campaigning but I've got to keep the other things going as well.
“Some of the things that are happening are not in the best character of the British. I want the best and nothing else is good enough.” [end p1]
Mother knows best
DURING her interview Mrs Thatcher also offered a remarkable insight into why women make better politicians, and why husband Denis is so vital to her success story.
“I think that women by virtue of bringing up families know that the easy way and the soft way is often not the best way,” she said.
Only recently one of her political admirers, Mr Enoch Powell, wrote of Mrs Thatcher: “Only a Woman could have so resolutely reversed so many errors.”
His verdict strikes a chord with Mrs Thatcher, who said: “The advantage of a family is they live within a framework of home and affection, so they know you are always trying to do your best for them, and it is not always easy to get that across in politics.”
“But a woman bringing up a family will say ‘Come on, you can do better than that. Come on what's the problem?
‘Now let's get down to it together.’
“A nurse will do the same thing. It is being constructive.
“If you try to take the easy way, to smother people, you will not get anywhere, and a mother knows you have got to try to make people use the talents and abilities they have got. It translates into politics.
“It may seem tough but it is the best. For instance you know you can't go on living as a nation beyond your means, that you've got to be prudent.
“Enoch PowellEnoch is right that a woman does say ‘Look, if you really believe in your country and your family, then you really do believe you can do better than this.’”
Turning to husband Denis—the target for some cruel humour—Mrs Thatcher said: “He is a tremendous support.
“Denis ThatcherDenis said he thought it would be an awful shame if I did not go on, as in his view I had a tremendous political talent and loved the work,
“So all the time he has been tremendously supportive, as have all the family. In some ways it is not very nice for them, because it brings them into the limelight and it ruins their private life. We all want a sense of privacy.
“But I'm sure, like me, he would like to see a hat-trick of election wins.”